Final Fantasy XIV. I’m not going to even attempt to build suspense for our Best Ongoing Game winner. Destructoid has too manyFFXIVsickos for anything else to take the crown, which is fitting given that our own Chris “Eorzea’s Finest” Carter wasan early adopter of the now-legendary MMORPG.
This, inadvertently, presents a bit of a conundrum in terms of selecting the “Best Ongoing Game” of any year. Live service games typically demanda lotof time. So it’s difficult – if not impossible – to find anyone who has playedeveryentry enough to make a fair judgment. It’s hard enough playingthe biggest single-player games of the year, let alone ones withpotentially hundreds of hours of things to grind for. Can we really sayFinal Fantasy XIVhad a better year than, say,Warframe?
But funny enough, that same concern also lends validity toFinal Fantasy XIV’s crown. Wearelimited by time, and there have beenplentyofothergamesthis year vying for our interest. To still play and even loveFinal Fantasy XIVunder those conditions is a testament to its quality.
Personally, I attribute much of this to just how evergreenFinal Fantasy XIVis. While most games live and die by their current season, Square Enix’s MMORPG offers so much that it onlykind ofmatters if it had a good or bad year. Fishing is still a weirdly compelling community activity. Glamour is still the true endgame. Heck, Istillhaven’t even tried out Eureka, and that was introduced all the way back inStormblood.
I’m not going to mention names, but at least one of us is on record here for playingFinal Fantasy XIVfor nearly two years. No, not like they started playing two years ago.That’s their in-game time.
There’s been a lot of discourse this year over the current state ofFinal Fantasy XIV. Giventhe insane honeymoon periodthe game enjoyed during the pandemic thatforced Square Enix to stop selling the game for a minute, I do think that was a long time coming.
But for my money,Final Fantasy XIVhas done a good job continuing to do what it does best. We’ve seen some fun dungeons to blaze through, bosses with tricky mechanics, andmore bangers courtesy of Masayoshi Soken. And while elements like the handling of Relic Weapons and the rewards for the Criterion Dungeons have garnered some discourse,Final Fantasy XIVis still undoubtedly a really fun game. As the MMORPG gears up to enter its next major story arc afterEndwalker, I’m excited to see where it will go in the future.
WillFinal Fantasy XIVinevitably win Best Ongoing Game in 2024 as well? I suppose that depends on howDawntrailpans out. But if that expansion manages to hold our attention, then I’d say it has a pretty good shot. Rejoice in the glory of combat!
